‘Actively exploited’: iPhone users urged to update
Apple iPhone users have been warned of three security weaknesses in older operating systems that may have been “actively exploited” by hackers.
The tech giant released a new iOS software update on Tuesday which fixes three weaknesses in the former system that may have allowed “remote attackers” to hack into phones.
The bugs affect both iPhones and iPads, with two of the bugs discovered in WebKit which powers the Safari browser and the Kernel, which powers the operating system.
The iOS14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 updates are available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, the iPod touch (7th generation) and the iPad mini 4 and later.
Apple said more information will be available soon, but that it cannot discuss certain details until an investigation has occurred.
Anonymous researchers found the cracks in the software.
You can see which operating system you have by heading to Settings on your device, then General and then Software Update. You can also update your phone from there.
Bug bounties
Two security researchers recently made US$50,000 after uncovering a flaw in Apple’s travel portal.
Apple awarded the cash to the two researchers, Rahul Maini and Harsh Jaiswal as part of the tech giant’s ‘bug bounty’ scheme, which sees professional security experts attempt to hack into Apple’s system in order to expose weaknesses that could otherwise be exploited by illegal players.
Other bounty hunters have earned as much as US$288,000 from uncovering vulnerabilities in Apple’s infrastructure.
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